23rd October 2019

Dear school community

Important Dates

Mid Term Break – Monday 28th October to Friday 1st November.  School will finish at the usual time of 2.30pm this Friday and will reopen on Monday 4th November.

Halloween Bake Sale – Fri 25th October baking homework for Junior Infants up to 2nd class.  €2 per child.

Dress Up Friday 25th October – Pupils are invited to dress up if they wish on Friday 25th October, with a focus on it being an ordinary school day and to dress up for fun that doesn’t scare others. It is our experience that some pupils find masks and clowns really frightening and we ask that they are not part of dress up in our school. Pupils cannot bring handheld accessories for safety reasons.

Parent Teacher Meetings will take place 21st & 28th of November

BOM Update – The current Board of Management term of office is coming to an end.  The process to nominate a male and a female parent to the board is underway.  Any parent/guardian who is interested must complete a nomination form (sent in the schoolbags last week or available from the school office) and return it to the school office by this Friday 25th October.  For further information you can contact the below for further information:

Rob Greene (Chair) 086 167 6270

Koryne Smyth (Parent Nominee) 086 326 3840

Graham Byrne (Parent Nominee) 086 8590848

This is your school so please get involved and if you have any questions, feel free to contact any of the above current members of the BoM.

Aladdin Connect – Aladdin Connect is the app used by the school to communicate your child’s school report in June, to book your parent teacher meeting slots and also to view and update your child’s attendance and timekeeping.  If you have not already registered for Aladdin Connect, please email [email protected] to request the link. Please download the Aladdin App and you will receive a username and password to register, followed by a PIN number so that you can access your child’s/children’s details on the system. Once you have downloaded the APP to your device please access Aladdin Connect to familiarise yourself with it in advance of parent teacher meeting booking in November. If your child is unable to attend school on a particular day, please update the attendance reason for absence on Aladdin connect rather than call the school office.

Morning Reading Volunteers – We have a wonderful group of volunteers to assist with morning reading in First Class. We are always looking for extra helpers. Morning reading happens every day at drop off time. It is a great way to be involved in helping the school as morning reading is flexible and doesn’t take too much time. The more volunteers we have the less time it takes. If you can help for any amount of time on any day please contact Mercedes on [email protected].

New Aftercare Pick-Up Procedure – Please see below the revised pick-up procedure for Aftercare.

When collecting your children please ring the bell. On entering the building, gather all belongings from the coat hanger and a member of staff will bring your child out to you and ask you to sign them out.  We would appreciate your cooperation and understanding on this matter which will enable full and continued supervision of all other children in our care while collection of your child is taking place.

Aftercare Booking Cut-off – Please also note that the cut-off time for booking your child into Aftercare on the same day you are booking is 11a.m. After this time, we will be unable to accommodate any child who has not been booked prior to the cut-off time as the final list of children determines the number of staff required.

Educate Together Secondary School, Crinion Park, Wicklow Town – ETSS Wicklow would like to invite the students of 5th and 6th class and their parents/guardians to our first open evening on Thursday 7th November from 18.30 to 20.30 on our school premises in Crinion Park, Wicklow Town (behind the old HSC Health centre).  Our students, staff and parent body will be there to showcase our school and our plans for the future.

Parking is limited on site so please see local signage for on street parking.

Please check out our website: www.etsswicklow.eu.  Apply for 1st Year 2020-2021 https://form.jotformeu.com/92823916182361

North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School, Putland Road, Bray – You are invited to join us at our Open Night on Thursday 24th October from 5pm to 7pm.  This relaxed and informative evening is open to all prospective students and parents/guardians/carers.  There will be a presentation by the Principal at 6pm in addition to guided tours of the school. Please feel free to spread the word – all welcome and no appointment necessary.

Cross Country Race Avondale – Congratulations to all the children from 3rd to 6th class who took part in the Cross-Country race in Avondale on Tuesday. 3rd and 4th class had to run 800m and 5th and 6th class had to run 1km!  It was a fantastic effort from everyone involved, some children were running for the first time and everyone completed their race – some with medals. A big thank you to all of the children who represented the school with super effort and behaviour.

I went to Avondale on Tuesday for a cross country race.  3rd class to 4th class ran in the race.  Iona in 5th class got a medal for coming 3rd in the race and Juno in 3rd class and Aaron in 5th class got medals too.  I got 16th in the race so I didn’t get a medal.  The tracks were really mucky and damp.  It was also really cold outside.  There were a bunch of other schools there as well.  I enjoyed the race a lot.  It was so cold, but nobody cared.

Written by Sophie 3rd Class Blue

Lost Property – Lost property will be on display at the front of the building at the bike rack end of the school. Please reclaim any lost property as soon as possible as any unclaimed items will be given to charity at the end of the term.

Road Safety – In the interests of safety please ensure that if your child is walking, scooting or cycling to school that they are always aware of the importance of road safety.

Car Parking – Please ensure that you do not park outside the school grounds on or at the grass verge on either side of the entrance to the school. Parking in this area significantly limits visibility  to oncoming traffic from both sides of the road. 

PTA Update

Bakesale Friday 25th October – Reminder that our bakesale will take place this Friday 25th October. Baking homework for children in Junior Infants to 2nd class. €2.00 per child.

Whole School Calendars – This very successful fundraiser will return this year. More information to follow in schoolbags this week.

Sunday 24th November 2019 our Winter Fair will be returning. We are taking applications for stalls. Please contact [email protected] for further information.

Glam Glitz – This very successful stall will be back with a bang at this year’s Winter Fair.  We are looking for ladies and children’s clothes for this event. Clothes must be washed and fit for resale. Clothes, shoes, handbags and costume jewellery all much appreciated so it’s a great opportunity for a clear – out.

Aldi Competition – Thank you to everyone who dropped in stickers for our wall chart. The chart is nearly full!  Please drop your stickers in the bucket on the counter in the main foyer.

Thank you 

Niamh.

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Please keep up to date with information from Wicklow Educate Together NS which is available through weekly newsletter, texts to parents, school wide notices, notes in bags, homework diaries & school website wicklowetns.com. Wicklow Educate Together N.S. is not on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media. For any queries, questions or feedback please approach your child’s class teacher in the first instance or the school office Lisa (0404 62786) email [email protected] Please contact Sinead school principal for any further clarification or information  on [email protected] Please note that we will only promote school sanctioned events or those that benefit a registered charity in our newsletter.

We would like to remind all parents/guardians that our enrolment policy is on a first come first served basis and would ask that you complete pre- enrolment forms for all younger siblings as early as possible. Our pre- enrolment form is available on our school website https://wicklowetns.com/

Please click on the Pre-Enrol tab and complete the Enrol Now form and submit.